“Stem cell” is a generic term for undifferentiated cells that can differentiate into various cells forming biological tissues and obtained from tissue of embryos, fetuses, and adults. Among various stem cells, adult stem cells are cells derived from bone marrow, and are multifunctional stem cells which can be differentiated into any cell forming an organ and blood of a human body.
Among these, bone marrow derived stem cells are considered as an ultimate means of treating diseases such as hematologic cancers, lymphoma, and bone marrow failure. Transplantation of bone marrow derived stem cells is currently being performed for various purposes, and particularly when organ transplantation is difficult in critical kidney and liver patients, a method of promoting regeneration of the liver and kidneys is being attempted by transplanting autologous bone marrow derived stem cells.
After the autologous bone marrow derived stem cells are transplanted, to promote differentiation and division of the stem cells, a recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (hG-CSF) is administered in full dose. However, in about 5-30% of patients, proliferation or mobilization toward blood does not occur in the stem cells, and various side effects such as myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, fever, ostalgia, splenomegaly, splenic rupture, etc. are known to be caused by the administration of hG-CSF (Masood et al., 2008; Fox et al., 2009). Particularly, the use of hG-CSF is being limited due to its high cost. Consequently, a new alternative means which is capable of promoting an effect of hG-CSF in proliferating the bone marrow derived stem cells, or mitigating the side effects of hG-CSF is required.
Angelicae gigantis radix is a dried substance of roots of Angelica gigas NAKAI, A. sinensis DIELS, and A. acutiloba KITAG, which are perennial herbs belonging to the family Umbelliferae, along with other congeneric, closely-related plants, and is known to have effects of replenishing blood to cure lack of blood supply, reducing menstrual cramps, and moisturizing the intestine to relieve constipation. The roots perform a sedative action, an antispasmodic action, a hypotensive action, etc., and aqueous solutions of essential oils of the roots perform an analgesic action and an anti-inflammatory action when used to treat arthritis. In the field of oriental medicine, the roots are mostly used in anemia, gynecopathy, and postpartum recovery, and are also used for serious coughing, boils, etc. Meanwhile, Korean Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-0092754 has disclosed content related to promoting differentiation of stem cells using Chrysanthemum zawadskii, which is a medicinal herb, but there has been no example of promoting differentiation of “bone marrow derived” stem cells using an angelicae gigantis radix extract.